Lakers rally past Blazers on 53-point performance by Luka Dončić

Los Angeles snapped a recent loss by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 124-118 on Friday, erasing a 16-point deficit with a 34-15 third-quarter surge that gave the Lakers an 87-75 lead. Luka Dončić led the comeback, scoring 53 points on 17-of-33 shooting and becoming the 10th-most 50-point games in NBA history, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s mark.

"Anytime you start a half down, you want to get to momentum early," Lakers head coach JJ Redick said of the third quarter. "We were playing from behind the first half, so I thought it was really important to get off to a good start, and we did that. … for the most part, it felt like we had control of the rest of the game, and a lot of that had to do with how we defended in the third quarter."

Dončić credited a late first-half three-pointer for shifting the game’s energy.

"[That shot] changes the whole energy," he said postgame. "In the team and in the gym. That was an important shot to make. So that’s why I decided to make it."

The Lakers improved their three-point shooting after a slow start, converting eight of their final 14 attempts. Redick emphasized that the win reflected the team’s growing resilience but noted that building a consistently strong squad requires a full season.

"I think we’re already a really together group. You don’t become a resilient team in 10 games, five games, 20 games. It takes a full season to build that resiliency. … The fact that this is a very together group and we’ve already shown a level of resiliency, it’s exciting, it’s promising and I want to continue building on that," he said.

Portland head coach Micah Nori praised Dončić’s impact, attributing the Lakers’ success to a combination of shooting, defense and contributions from teammates such as Walker Kessler. The Lakers have 72 games remaining in the season, and Redick highlighted the importance of responding to adversity as the team continues its development.

"We all want good results. This is going to be a long process and it’s going to take time for us to become a great basketball team. I like that our guys have responded to some adversity. Tonight was a great example, where we get down pretty big early and we just stick with it," Redick added.